Question 1

Why is the subjunctive verb vendan used here instead of the indicative venden?

Accepted Answer

The phrase Me da pena que expresses an emotion about someone else's action. In Spanish, whenever you state an emotion about what another person does, the verb in the second part of the sentence must be in the subjunctive mood. That is why we use vendan instead of the regular present tense venden.

Question 2

I thought pena meant "pity" or "embarrassment". Why does it mean "sad" here?

Accepted Answer

The word pena is very versatile. The phrase dar pena (literally "to give pity or sadness") frequently translates to "making someone sad" or "making someone feel sorry" for a situation. In many parts of Latin America, dar pena can also mean "to make someone feel embarrassed," but in the context of someone selling a house, sadness is the most natural meaning.

Question 3

Instead of Me da pena que, could I just say Estoy triste que?

Accepted Answer

You have to be a little careful there. If you want to use the adjective triste (sad), you need to add the preposition de before que, making it Estoy triste de que ellos vendan la casa. Because that can be easy to forget, using verb phrases like Me da pena que or Me entristece que is often a safer and more natural choice.

Question 4

In English we can just say "It makes me sad they are selling the house." Can we drop the que in Spanish?

Accepted Answer

No, you cannot drop que in Spanish. Even though English frequently leaves out the word "that" to connect two parts of a sentence, Spanish strictly requires que to link the emotion (Me da pena) to the action causing it (ellos vendan la casa).

Me da pena que ellos vendan la casa.

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